Sixty workers were deployed and 10 lorry loads of debris removed, an official release said. Mr. Nandakumar said the owner of the commercial complex had occupied a portion of the service lane measuring over 2,000 sq. ft. The service lane connects First and Second Streets of Tansi Nagar.

The official said that the civic body proposed to form a temporary road and once the electric poles were shifted, the Highways Department would re-lay it. The department had paid charges to Tamil Nadu Electricity Board for laying underground cable and shifting the poles.